That little floating mistletoe
by Moranofchaos2
Summary: After a revealing meeting with el Oso, the Riveras decide to pull a huge Christmas party: one for heroes and villains altogether. Will the two sides be able to put away their differences and share a peaceful night together? MannyxFrida R


**Hello my fellow El Tigre fans. ****Even though you all obviously know about it, I will say it because it gives joy to my soul: Hoy es Navidad.**

**And so, having this beautiful time of the year come to us once again, I'd like to add my contribution to the holidays with a fic, Christmas-style. I hope you enjoy it, and have a nice Christmas. For the Jews, have a nice Hanukkah.**

**Here we go!**

_That little floating mistletoe_

BOOM! A door flew through the air and crashed against a building's wall, destroying it almost completely. A dark cloud of smoke came out of the destroyed door, momentarily clouding the air, making everyone near the place cough and their eyes got dry with dust.

A second later, though, all smoke had vanished, revealing the origin of the explosion: a giant fur-covered man stood on the hole he made, each black claw-like hand held firmly a big bag. El Oso glanced at each side of the street, like a little kid wondering if he should cross the street or not. He jerked his head and let out a huge, pure-joy laughter.

"Yeah, man! No White Pantera and no el Tigre, man! Maybe I can get mah things ready for tonight, man!" el Oso yelled to no one. He ran through the street, heading back to his home in Calavera, with only one thought in mind: prepare everything.

But eventually…

"El Oso!" an authoritative male voice roared. The furry thug spun and threw a glance at his back.

"Aw, man! El White Pantera!" he grumbled "Can you just let me get this stuff, man?" from behind the white-dressed hero, another super appeared, laughing at the big villain question "What so funny, el Tigre?" the 13 years-old tiger-themed super dried his eyes and threw an insolent look at the villain.

"You actually think my dad and I are going to let you get away with stolen goods? Ha-ha, nice try el Oso, but your going to jail!" the big villain just stared at him, rage twisting his face… and suddenly, el Oso was on the floor, his moustached face hidden between his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Manny and his dad exchanged a puzzled look. They had so not seen that coming.

"Uh… el Oso… are you okay?" doubtfully asked White Pantera, but the look el Oso threw him, his big red eyes covered in tears, not only answered him but made him feel like an idiot. Of course he wasn't alright! What kind of dumb question was that?

"What kind of dumb question is that, man?" asked el Oso, echoing WP's thoughts "of course I'm not okay, man!"

"Well, what's going on?" asked Manny. He didn't like when villains got the better of his father, nor he liked the sight of el Oso crying. I mean, c'mon, it was so out of place!

"The thing going on, man, is that you two keep ruining mah Christmases, man!" Christmas? Manny and Rodolpho looked at each other.

"What are you talking about, Oso?" the big villain lifted his head and looked at the heroes.

"You talkin' serious, man?" Manny and Rodolpho nodded "You no remember what day is, man?" Manny and Rodolpho shook their heads "today is Nochebuena, man!" Manny and Rodolpho stared at him blankly for about… 0.3 seconds. After that, the hero-slash-villain shot a grappling claw at a store, crashed the window and retracted, grabbing an almanac.

"Holy san Diego! El Oso is right, dad! Today is Christmas Eve!" all the people in the street paused in what they were doing and stared at the kid super and his father, all their expression saying the same thing: Duh.

"No way!" Rodolpho snatched the almanac from his son's hands and looked at it. It was, indeed, December 24th. And they hadn't remembered "How could we not see what day was today?"

"Uh, maybe 'cause you so busy chasing down bad guys who wanna do they Christmas shopping, man" suggestively commented el Oso.

"What? Christmas shopping?" Manny turned around and looked at the building el Oso had just robbed: a giant mall "And why steal? Why don't you buy your gifts? That way my dad and I won't arrest you" as soon as the words escaped his lips, Manny knew there was something wrong with them. But what was it…?

"With what money, man?"

Oh. _That_ was. Right.

"Have you tried an honest day work?" asked Rodolpho, letting go another stupid question. But el Oso just laughed grimly.

"Right, man, like anyone gonna hire me" Tigre and White Pantera looked at the floor, feeling uncomfortable "Do you know what is like not getting any present in Christmas, man? Do you know what is having your only little brother cry because there no presents on the tree, man? And when you lock me up in prison, man, I see how guards give gifts to each other, and they are happy, man. Why you heroes don't want us villain to be happy in Christmas, man? We humans too, you know?" Manny felt like covering his ears. El Oso had hurt him many times, always in the heat of the battle, always physical injuries. But that was the first time he touched his soul. And, man, that didn't feel funny.

Manny knew el Oso was right. So did Rodolpho. They both had been crime-fighting for so long, they had forgotten villains actually _had_ families who missed them. They all had a loved person who they wanted to give gifts to. But they couldn't, because of the prejudices, because of the heroes.

Manny felt like crying. He looked up to his father and flinched. He had a serious expression like he had never seen in his life.

"El Oso" both the villain and the teen flinched, as his voice was abnormally serious "You will come with us" Manny stared at his father like he had gone nuts.

"Dad! You can't! He's right, villains are…"

"I know m'ijo" Rodolpho reassured him, smiling "I'm not throwing el Oso in prison today. But I will need his help on something" he kneeled down so he was facing the sitting villain directly "What do you say, Oso? Will you help us make a Christmas party?"

RING! RING! RING! RI—clung! "Hola?" asked police Chief Suarez, answering the phone. Frida, who was in the living room on that moment, drawing a pic of a guitar, witnessed the weirdest phone talk she could ever imagine "Rivera! I told you to… what…? You what…?! You want me to do what…?!" police Chief Suarez took the phone out of his ear and stared at it for a second, like it was toxic or something before resuming the chat "Have you gone insane Rivera?... oh, I see, but still… Hey wait a se… Well, assuming I do, what is… no, I don't… but they are…! Well, when you put it that way… hey, wait a seco… Ok, Ok, no need to be rude… no, no, I'll take care of it… I don't know why, but I will… de nada Rivera… yeah, bye" Police Chief Suarez hung up the phone and leant against the wall, his face completely blank. And then, in a second, he took his hat, his badge, his uniform and left the house. Frida stared at the door before shrugging and resuming her drawing. A second after that, her cell phone started ringing. She answered, pressing the "manos libres" button.

"Hey, Frida" it was Manny

"Dude, it was you who was talking to my dad?"

"Yeah, but listen, I…"

"Dude, you made him go totally wacko! You're totally my hero!" she heard her best friend laugh on the other side "What did you tell him to do?"

"Free all prisoners" now was Frida's turn to laugh.

"Yeah, right" silence "He's doing what now?"

"Come over to my place and you will see. We're making a super surprise for Miracle City this year! What do you think about it?" silence "Frida?" more silence "Frida! This is so not funny!" and more silence "You can't just leave me talking to the air or…"

"Lieutenant Suarez reporting to mission, senior!" Manny jumped for the surprise of hearing the voice not coming from the phone but from his back. He looked behind his back and –presto jinjo- Frida was in there, standing like nothing in the middle of his living room.

"Uh… great… now, what I was saying…" he didn't even ask how she had gotten in there. There were things that, after a lifetime of friendship, needn't being said to be known "Well, first part is, whatever your plan for today night is, forget about it" Frida gave him the fish eye.

"Right and that would be because…?"

"Didn't you hear all I said 'bout the super surprise for Miracle City this year?"

"Nope" Manny stared at her funny face -man, this was going to be hard-

"Anita! Nikita!" Frida stormed into her sisters' collective bedroom, yelling like a possessed.

"Frida! What do you want in here?" asked the twins in their usual switching-every-other-word style "Your boyfriend broke up with you?" Frida frowned. They always tried to pick on her from there. First, because they knew how Frida felt towards Manny; second, because they knew she was afraid of telling him and; third, because it contributed to their dad's paranoia and wanting-to-make-Frida-stop-seeing-that-no-good-Rivera.

"Well, at least _I_ have a boyfriend" Frida enjoyed the look on her sisters' face. But right now wasn't time for fraternal fights, but to spread the word of Manny's plan. That's why, before her sisters had time to come up with some clever-and-hurtful comeback, she put a flier before their faces "You think you can spread the word? Like, to a lot of people?" Anita and Nikita read the flyer, their eyes getting wider with each word. When they ended, they stood up and smiled.

"Who do you think we are, baby sister? We will take care of this; just give us some more flyers to give"

"There is a box full of them in the kitchen, next to orange juice, left to the jam" Frida spun and went to her room without another word. When the door was closed, she sent a text message to Manny. One word and one word only:

Done

Rodolpho looked through the window feeling pretty pleased. The plan was working out a success. Frida had taken care of the school, the Suarez twins had taken care of all police offices and cadets, Manny had taken care of police Chief Suarez and several minor villains, Grandpapi was on his way to deliver the message to more villains, police Chief Suarez had already played his part, el Oso had spread the word to Calavera and Calavera to Zombie Town, and now it was his turn to share the notice with the other heroes.

He loosened his tie a bit. He wasn't sure about what the reaction of the other heroes would be. He himself wouldn't have reacted well to it if he hadn't been organizing the whole thing.

But then again, it was Christmas Eve, the time where everyone shares, there is joy in the world, everyone is family and we are all happy, right? **(Author's note: I wish this I'm writing would be true)** And the heroes, the Paladines de la Justicia, wouldn't they be happy for this?

A landing noise diverted him from his thoughts. Looking behind his back he saw his father in his mech suit landing on the house.

"So, how did it go, papi?" the eager-to-know hero asked to his way eviler father.

"Ah, it could not go gooder" he answered, reversing the mech suit back to its regular sombrero form "They all be there by 9 O'clock"

"Same here" announced Manny, jumping from the ceiling, landing perfectly next to his grandfather.

"Same here, man" added el Oso, breaking in through a window.

"Same here" corroborated Anita and Nikita coming from nowhere.

"Same here dudes" added Frida next to Manny, munching a churro.

"Same here, though I cannot say I'm 100% convinced about this" sternly commented police Chief Suarez throwing a bad look at the youngest Rivera. Rodolpho rubbed his hands and took a deep breath.

"Ok then, it is time for me to go" Rodolpho jerked his head to the back, making his hat and glasses fly away, as his hands ripped his grey suit, revealing the white one below "This looks like a job for… White Pantera!" the proud super stood on his position a few seconds before blasting through the wall, ready to deliver the news to every hero he could find.

Back in the Rivera home, Chief Suarez shook his head.

"I will never know how you get the money to make so many repairs" Manny, Frida and Grandpapi exchanged a look and shared a low five with some giggles.

"And that would be the situation" it was an hour and a half after Rodolpho had gone wall-crashing in the Rivera home. He now was in a giant circular room with silver tiles, surrounded by heroes: the Silver Sombrero, Cosmic Cleopatra, the Industrialist, el Cucharon, the Golden Eagle Twins, Flama Dama, the Iron Piniata, Gordo Gordo, the Seventh Samurai and several more. Until a second ago, all of them had been mute, listening eye-wide to White Pantera's speech. But now that it ended, all were whispering between them, looking at WP, talking things, looking at WP, exchanging looks, looking at WP, etc.

"Friend Rodolpho" spoke the Seventh Samurai, making instant silence in the room "I understand your ideals, but I also know how high your hopes of making peace are. So I must ask you: are you really sure about this?" all gazes fell down on the white-dressed super, proudly standing and returning their gazes with eyes of fire.

"Yes, I am, Samurai. I understand what you mean, but this is really possible. My father has the word of honour of all villains…"

"Word of honour?" interrupted the Silver Sombrero "Honour! Hahaha, good one, Pantera, but we all know villains have no honour at all. So, if all we have for being in peace is the inexistent promise of all the villains in three towns, I don't think we shall go" immediately three quarters of the heroes seemed to agree with him, and the remaining quarter look dubious on their path. Rodolpho narrowed his eyes at the silver-clothed super. He knew the Silver Sombrero had wanted to get back at him for turning his invitation to join the league of supreme reliance down. Still…

"If you don't want to come because you would rather spend this day with your family, Sombrero" answered White Pantera without losing composure "I will understand it" the Sombrero-wielding hero smiled "But, if you don't want to come because you can't get over your prejudice of the evildoers and the evil ways, then I must suggest you to review the code of a Hero" everyone gasped and the other hero got purple "Because, as it says in the first page, "You cannot fight evil without believing in good". Am I right, el Cucharon?"

"Si" answered the spoon-themed ex-villain with his nasal voice "I used to be a villain, but thanks to Ms. Rivera, I am now in the path of justice and good. I have my hopes on el senior Rivera here and I will go to his event"

"Thank you my friend" vowed Rodolpho with a smile "Anyone else who wants to come to the first Christmas party Miracle City, Calavera and Zombie Town will be holding together?" no one spoke "Very well. I must leave now, as I have to finish with all the preparative. Senior Cucharon, I'm expecting you at 9 O'clock" The ex-villain nodded and White Pantera disappeared, running trough the door, leaving all the other heroes immersed on though.

"Ok, a little to your left" commanded Frida. El Oso, following her direction, grabbed a big… no, a HUGE tree and lifted it in the air like it was made from cotton candy and moved it a few centimetres to the left "Perfect" complimented Frida raising her thumb. She then turned around and saw how everyone else were doing. Her sisters, her dad, her best friend and his grandfather, they were all either giving directions or receiving them. But they were all working together. Zombies, skeletons, living persons, heroes, villains, undecided ones they all worked as equals for one common goal.

"It's going great, isn't it?" asked Manny, suddenly by her side. She nodded without looking at him, keeping a straight face even tough her insides were burning "Did the chupacabras eat your tongue?" the blue-haired rocker looked at her best friend and stoke her tongue out. In a second, Manny had his fingers pressing against it, holding it outside. Frida's eyes grew large, as she had never imagined Manny would do something like that. She felt her tongue go dry, but barely noticed it as the burning feeling in her insides had duplicates, making her whole head turn red. Manny released the tongue and laughed.

"Man, you should have seen your face. You were like…" and he made a funny twisted face. Frida laughed as she couldn't really get mad at him for making a prank. They always had been teasing up the other, playing jokes and laughing at them together. That's why their bond was so strong. No matter what happened, they always had had the other for sharing a laugh.

But that didn't mean she couldn't think of a comeback. And speaking of the devil…

"Oh really?" the blue-haired girl asked between giggles. Manny opened his mouth to answer… and felt two hands grab him by each side of the face. His heart skipped half a dozen beats when he realized Frida was the owner of those hands. And she also owned the face that was getting closer. Really closer. Like in pushing-the-boundary-lines closer.

"Uuuhh… F-Frida… wh-what a-a-are you doing?" he spoke between stutters, watching her face move closer, her lips puking out…

"Frida…" he could smell her perfume, intoxicating wave of exotic wilderness. He could see her face coming closer, her diamond-like blue eyes sparkling joyful, naïve; her lips coming closer and closer, irradiating waves of hotness and fire, making him want to melt apart. And he could really hear his own heart going totally wacko in his chest, pumping, stopping, accelerating, slowing…

"Gotcha!" yelled Frida on Manny's face, bursting in laughter, holding her shaking stomach. Manny just stared at her. He knew this was the time he was supposed to laugh with her so they could keep doing what they were doing before. That was his role in the annoying _duet_ they made. But he had wanted that kiss _so_ bad. It could have been the perfect solution, the perfect way to know she felt the same way he did.

And he was tired. Tired of waiting for a signal. Tired of not being brave enough to make a move. Tired of those hots he suffered whenever she got too close.

So he just laughed with her, and when they stopped laughing they got back to work.

Sometimes it's hard to get out of a role once you've started playing the part.

"Alright then, we should be done about half an hour before hour guests come" advised White Pantera over a table with a blueprint on it. At his sides were Puma Loco and el Oso. Facing him were general Chapuza, Sartana of the Dead and municipal president Rodriguez. The five men and the undead lady they all belonged there for a reason: Sartana as the lady of the undead, general Chapuza played the same part with the zombies, municipal president Rodriguez was like Miracle City's boss; el Oso was the baddest and strongest in all Calavera and the Riveras…

Well, they were the organizers of the whole thing.

"Are shu shure about this, Pantera?" asked Rodriguez. White Pantera nodded and turned the blueprints so the old man could see them. He seemed quite satisfacted.

"Ok people, we have less than two hours for finish the preparative and have all our guests ready" commanded WP rubbing his hands "We don't have a second to waste, so here are your tasks and the people under your command" he gave them a couple sheets of paper with several names in them "Well, what are you waiting for? GO!" at the moment the meeting was dismissed and everyone present run like they had their own set of Bronze Boots of Truth. Rodolpho stood on his place, hands on his waist looking very proud of himself. It was all going out of wonders, now the only thing he needed was…

"Um… dad?" the superhero spun 'til he was facing his back, facing his son "Uh… I was just wondering if… you know… maybe we could… we could talk about… something" Manny's doubtful tone should have sounded suspicious to Rodolpho, but immersed as he was with all the preparative fresh in his mind, he couldn't afford to waste a second.

"Sorry m'ijo, but I am kind of busy. Could you wait a couple of hours?" he asked before lifting a booted foot, ready to go running.

"It's about girls" White Pantera ran over, lifting a trail of smoke behind him. A second later another trail, this time coming from the other side came back to Manny. So did his hysterically-excited father, who seemed to have had a couple heart attacks in the last second.

"About girls? Did I hear right? My son, finally asking me to have the talk with him? Coming on his own will?" he said those twenty two words so fast Manny had to take a few seconds to process them and another few to understand them "Oh my God! I have so many things prepared for this day, books, magazines, videos, posters, everything!" Manny's dad was so excited his eyes practically popped out of his head "I will go look for them; you stay here and be good! My own son!" with that, White Pantera dashed on his way home, crashing through the bricks wall. Manny just stared blankly at the spot he had been.

"Oookaaayy… guess I'd better speak with Grandpapi" he then thought about it. And about what Grandpapi, being a villain, might tell him, being a teen "On the other hand, this thing can wait couple hours"

The time flew really fast for all who were preparing the thing. Between giving directions, receiving direction, moving objects, buying gifts, buying decoration, etc, the afternoon passed so fast they didn't realize until everything was done and their gazes rose altogether to Miracle City's giant clock: It was 8:30 PM, and the sky had already darkened with the sun setting. Everything was ready. The only thing left to do was have a sit, eat some junk food and wait for the guests.

It was funny how slow the time seemed to go from that point over. When everyone sat down, the non-power citizens sat on a group of tables, the villains in another group, the skeletons and zombies in another one and the heroes hadn't yet arrived. So, being as naïve as one can be, White Pantera asked everyone to sit with other people, let's say, change the seats. So, Black Cuervo decided to set the example and went to sit right next to Manny and rubbed his chin. Next thing anyone knew was Frida had her hands around Cuervo's neck and was trying to choke her. Of course WP, Voltura, Lady Gobbler and Manny stepped in and pulled them apart, resulting in a furious Cuervo and a sulking Frida. From that point on, everything went down to worst: a citizen took a zombie's head out of a punch, claiming he had tried to eat his brain. Some other villain decided to kill time throwing pieces of salivated bread to other people with the bad luck one of them ended in doctor Chipotle Sr's ear, who immediately aimed his laser beam at the guy and shot. But the guy ducked and the laser kept going… and crashed with Vultura's back, and it wasn't just Voltura who answered the blow, but the whole Flock of Fury who shot their lasers together. And that's when the fun ended: the lasers hit Sartana and Django who immediately summoned an army of calavera bandidos and countered. And then everything became a nuthouse: skeletons flying around, food crashing on faces, Frida choking Cuervo, el Oso turning tables upside down, zombies trying to eat people and terrified bystanders running for their lifes. Manny and Rodolpho tried to stop the madness with little success, seeing how Puma Loco helped the chaos by throwing hot sauce from his hat.

But, just when Rodolpho had convinced himself nothing worst could happen, the heroes arrived. And seeing such madness, they decided to enter the fight. And so, the chaos was total: the giant trees fell over covered in flames, the lights exploded, the food was being used as projectiles, the drinks fountain was receiving many heads being pulled in there, like a mid school toilet.

Rodolpho stared in horror and awe as his "perfect party" turned into a "perfect disaster"

"This can't be" the hero mumbled in despair.

"Dad!" screamed Manny "What do we do? This has gone totally nut-hole!" his father didn't answer "Dad? Dad! Come on, talk to me dad!" still silent, Rodolpho Rivera moved his neck so his face aimed straight to his son. What Manny saw made him stumble back, awestruck, and made his heart feel like shrinking and bursting in pieces. His father's face was exactly the same, but different. It was as if someone had ripped his soul from inside out. His face didn't show any emotions, but his eyes shone with the pain of a man who has lived not hundreds, but thousands of years in pain. And in an instant, Manny realized how old his father was getting: his always groomed hair seemed grey, dusty and bright less. His eyes were framed with black bags and his face showed a very unhealthy parchment colour.

But that was nothing compared to the feeling it transmitted: A feeling of defeat, of someone so utterly despaired he had given up all hope and entrusted his remaining to the black abyss.

"Dad…"

"Look out!" He didn't know who yelled. He didn't know had thrown the last tree out of its roots. Only thing he knew was that a giant tree was coming towards his and his father's standing place. Without even thinking he shot a grapple claw to a building, getting out of the place in an instant. Only when he got to the roof he realized, he was alone. His father was still in the tree's kill-line.

"DAD!" he hit the building with his feet, shooting himself to his father, who just stared at the tree, like he didn't care if his life ended in that very moment.

He didn't.

"PAPÁ!" Manny pushed his dad to the side, making them stumble and roll to the side. A second later a huge "Boom!" was heard when the trunk hit the floor "Dad! Dad, are you alright?" it seemed that Manny had inherited his dad's dumb questions. Rodolpho vaguely stared at him and extended a hand to his shoulder.

"Help me get up m'ijo" Manny shivered. His dad's voice seemed abnormally quiet, like it took him a tremendous amount of strength to just speak. Once he got to his feet he sighed and took out his mask.

"Everyone" he called. No one heard, though, as they seemed more worried about beating the other people in the meeting to death, or just avoid being beaten up to death by the other people "Everyone" he called, this time stronger. Same result. That alone was enough for Manny: it was bad enough that the party was ruined, that his father was in half-comatose state and that the heroes and villains were trying to beat the other group out of their minds, but his father being ignored – he would _not_ allow that.

"HEY YOU ALL DAMN **SUCKERS!**" the thirteen year-old roared out of his lungs "PAY ATTETION **NOW!**" still, he didn't have any more response than a couple heads turning. So he decided to change: villain style.

He shot both grapple claws and grabbed Sartana of the Dead mystic guitar. With a quick blow he cut five strings. World stood still when Sartana turned around and faced el Tigre and shot him a death glare that could have made Miracle City's volcano want to run out. But Manny wasn't up for being pushed around as he aimed the guitar straight at the undead villainess face, his finger next to the remaining string.

"Who feels like ignoring me now?" he questioned in a dangerous I-want-to-kill-you-all voice. A Calavera villain raised his hand. A second later he was crushed against a wall, a big burned mark on his chest "And who wants to play smart guy on me?" this time nobody moved a muscle. Manny would have smiles if he hadn't been so angry "What's up with you guys?"

"What-a do you mean-a by-a that?" asked Senior Siniestro frowning "You're the-a guy who's-a pointing a laser guitar-a at us"

"What do I mean by that? What do I mean by that! This is what I mean!" Manny shot another laser and pierced the armoured cowboy hat "This is supposed to be a _party_! This is supposed to be a _Christmas_ party! So, why are you fighting? Why are you ruining it? WHY!?" the last question was practically a roar. Everyone looked at the others, not knowing what to say.

"Let it go, m'ijo" Manny dropped the guitar in surprise. Spinning on his feet, he saw his father standing beside him, his face a little less pale.

"Dad! You're ok! You're… what?"

"I said, let it go, m'ijo"

"But…" Manny looked at his father's face "How can you say that? This party… you're the one who wanted to do it so bad you reunited everyone in here! This was your idea dad! How can you tell me to let it go?" Manny was on the verge of tears. His father tried to smile, not getting a really bright result.

"Because, m'ijo, I was wrong" Manny and everyone else stared altogether "I thought we could make a little peace between heroes and villains during this time of the year. I hoped everyone could put away their differences and celebrate like friends… but I was wrong. It seems that heroes and villains are not meant to share a time together. I have failed m'ijo. Let me live with my shame" he gave everyone the back and walked off. They just saw him leave, Manny petrified on his place.

It took a good time before anyone said anything. The first one who moved was Frida, getting near Manny and putting her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry dude. Must've been really hard for your dad…"

"Shut up" Frida took her hand away, feeling like if he had just slapped him "You are as guilty as everyone. This is all you guys fault"

"But…"

"BUT WHAT?!" el Tigre exploded, turning around and facing his best friend "Didn't you see him? He's lost all hope! And who's fault is this?" he moved his eyes from Frida's face to everyone else. His green eyes focused on the heroes. Slowly, he walked to them, his fists clenched in anger.

"I hope you all are really proud" he shot a grappling claw behind his back and pulled himself to chase down his father, leaving the party place in a graveyard-like silence.

It took Manny half an hour to find his father. He looked out through every building, on the sewer, on the volcano, on the low-town, but he finally found him on the mole fields, sitting next to a particularly big lake. Manny sat next to his dad and pulled him into a hug. Rodolpho sighed.

"I'm sorry this didn't go as you wanted, dad" Rodolpho sighed again "They are all jerks. C'mon dad, we don't need that big Christmas party, we have our family like all the years right?" Rodolpho hugged his knees and said nothing "I mean, that's what Christmas is about, right? Spending a good time with your family" he bit his tongue for avoid an unnecessary word about gifts.

"I know m'ijo" whispered Rodolpho still not looking at him "But I was hoping we could expand our family this year, you know?" Manny tightened his hug. They stayed that way, completely silent, trying not to inhale the toxic steams.

"I think we should go dad. I mean, before we suffocate" suggested Manny. Rodolpho nodded and got to his feet, holding his son's hand on his own. But before they could give a step, they heard a rocket-like sound. Rising their eyes to the sky, they saw Puma Loco soaring through the sky heading to them.

"There shu are!" commented the evil old man landing next to his family "We been looking for shu two everywhere!"

"We? We who? And for what?" asked a confused Manny. Puma laughed.

"All the party guests of course!" Both Riveras stared at the old man "After shu leave… we take some time thinking and realized we was very tontos. We wanted to apologize and continue the party" Rodolpho let out a grim laugh.

"Continue the party? Yeah right, maybe _your_ kind of party, but my idea pf a party, father, isn't getting on a multiple fight and trash the party my son made" Grandpapi looked hurt "So, thank you but no, thank you. I'll be going home now"

"Rodolpho" interjected Puma sounding serious "I know we screw up, but please. I beggin' shu as shor father. Shu have to believe in us" Grandpapi was practically kneeling down, begging his son. White Pantera glared at his father, his face a closed book.

"I should not be doing this, but I guess it can't go any worse" he shrugged, then sighed "Lead the way papi" Puma Loco got back up immediately and started his rockets, rising through the air "But… if this party ends up the same way the other… I will show you the dark side of justice. Am I clear?" Grandpapi swallowed, just as Manny. They both knew Rodolpho's threat wasn't to be taken lightly.

"Clear as crystal, my son. Now let's go"

As they got near and near to the party place, the air was filled with a sweet scent. Like if someone was melting caramel. And they could hear something, too. Like lots and lots of voices talking altogether. And when they got near enough to see, their eyes widened and their mouths fell to the floor.

The party was rebuilt. It was as if the fight had never happened: the trees were up again, the decorations were in place, the food was on the tables, everything was exactly like before. No, even better, because, unless their eyes tricked them, everybody was getting along. Heroes, villains, bystanders, all sitting at one giant table and talking, and laughing, and sharing the food and the drink. Rodolpho almost had an emotional crisis.

"Whoa, you guys really made it up" commented Manny as Rodolpho was too excited to talk. Ant then, someone saw them.

"There they are!" he screamed with joy. And in a second they three Riveras were surrounded by people who threw them in the air held them when they landed and threw them again. They were hugged, their hands shook, their backs patted and soon enough they were part of the party. Manny was dragged into some sort of the kids table with Doctor Chipotle Jr., Che Chapuza, Django, Black Cuervo, and all the kids from his school and from the whole three towns. Rodolpho was pushed to sit in the end of the adult table, next to Maria and Grandpapi, a cup of eggnog on his hand. The two Rivera heroes could not believe their eyes: every single citizen of Calavera, Miracle City and Zombie Town was in that party, behaving like… like they were all friends.

It was wonderful.

Manny couldn't help but notice some floating green things, suspended at two meters in the air. But when he asked Dr. Chipotle Jr., he just laughed and told him "Chipotle floating mistletoe"

At 10 O'clock came the dinner: three dozen turkeys, tons of French fries, tons of soup dishes full of peas, sauce boats with delicious sauces and salty cookies to dip in the sauces.

Between eating and chatting and laughing Manny lost track of time. The minutes flew by and before he knew it, the food was gone and it was 11:15: dessert time. And the desserts ended up being tons of pancakes, churros, flan with cream, flan with dulce de leche, chocolate cakes, lemon pies, candies, etc. The desserts were gotten rid by 11:35 and everyone was getting that beautiful I'm-full feeling. Rodolpho got to his feet rubbing his stomach with a pleased expression plastered on his face. He softly hit a spoon against his cup to draw everyone's attention.

"Now that we have finished the food and the dessert, there is just one more thing to do before it's Christmas" with a sign of his hand Municipal President Rodriguez got up and walked to a giant wooden box right next to a statue on his own image. With a soft hit the top and the walls fell over and box's content was revealed: dozens of hundreds of fireworks in every shape, size and colour united by the strings on every bottom that joined in one unique and much thicker string. All the kids' mouth fell to the floor at that sight: it was the pyrotechnic explosive paradise.

"As you all can see" continued his speech White Pantera "there are quite a lot of fireworks in here, contributed by all towns. When the clock marks the 11:59 with 50 seconds we will ignite them. Six seconds later they will rise to the sky and four seconds later they will explode, just when the clock tower marks the 12 O'clock and the beginning of Christmas" Rodolpho fell silent just for the crowd to start applauding and cheering. It would be a show of all hell.

Manny was among those who cheered. A super mega fireworks show was something you don't see every Christmas. I mean, every Christmas had its own fireworks show but this promised to be a HUGE one.

"Ain't this great Frida? We got ourselves a massive…" just then he realized Frida wasn't with him. In fact he couldn't recall having seen her during the dinner or the dessert. He looked around: not a trace of Frida. He jumped to a rooftop and looked from above: not a single blue-haired-red-goggled head. He jumped out the rooftop and rubbed his head. This didn't make sense at all. Where could Frida be, at the eve of the most spectacular fireworks show ever? He looked at the clock tower: 11:42. Time was running out and Christmas could not start without Frida. But just when he was wondering where to look for her, he heard someone barking his name right behind him.

"Rivera!" he spun around and found himself facing Police Chief Suarez. The patch-eyed man stared at the boy with evident displeasure, his jaws firmly pressed against each other.

"Yeah?"

"Where is my Frida?" Manny looked at him.

"Honestly? I was hoping you could tell me" the adult Suarez growled.

"I don't have time for your games, Rivera. I just want to know where Frida is"

"And I am telling you that I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her since I ran to catch up with my dad" Suarez growled and clenched his fists but he could tell Manny was telling the truth.

"Well then, don't stay there like a goofball, find her!" he roared before running and getting among the crowd.

"Quite the Sunshine there" mumbled Manny to himself before focusing on finding Frida. He sat on the floor Indian-style and put his hands on his knees. He knew a trick that could help him. A new Ancient Power non-battle movement he had been developing: he called it the Tigre Tracker. Looking on his pockets he found a quarter. But not just _any_ quarter: that had been the first Christmas present he got from Frida.

_Flashback_

_It had happened a Christmas Eve eleven years ago. Two-year old Manny Rivera was staring angered at the school's vending machine. He had put every single coin he had but the stupid machine wouldn't let go of the candy bar he wanted._

"_Come on!" urged the little kid to the three-times-bigger-than-him machine "I'm hungry! My tummy hurts! I want some candy!" he tried hitting the machine but still nothing happened. The little brown-haired child dropped his butt to the floor and buried his head on his arms, crying despairingly as his belly continued hurting him._

"_Dude, what_'s_ up?" he heard someone ask behind him. It seemed like a girl. Frantically he rubbed his eyes, trying to erase all trace of tears "You know I can totally see you" Manny stood up and face the girl: she was his height, with short blue hair and a pair of shiny red goggles attached to her head. Her blue eyes shone curious while her mouth formed an amused grin "Why you crying?"_

_Manny violently shook his head "Was not"_

"_Was so" answered the girl letting out a giggle._

"_Was not"_

"_Was so"_

"_Was not"_

"_Was. So"_

"_Was so" finally admitted Manny crossing his arms, a bitter defeat expression plastered on his face. The girl giggled again._

"_Why? Don't you know it's Christmas? You should be happy!" she took his hands to his face and stretched the mouth, making a big smile "There, all better" the smile faded away._

"_How can I be happy if this thing doesn't give me candy?" he asked to her like it was obvious. She stared at him, at the machine, at him again, at the machine again and the picked a quarter from her pocket._

"_Have your candy" she told him giving him the quarter, a silly smile spread along her face. Manny's eyes widened._

"_Seriously?" the girl nodded energically "Wow… thanks…" in that moment… CLANK! CHUCK! The candy fell from the machine. Both Manny and the blue-haired child stared at it. Manny put his hand on the machine and took his candy bar off._

"_I have my candy now" he stated. The girl nodded "Do you want your money?"_

"_Nah, have it. Is my Christmas present" from behind the kids a car horn was heard "That my papa. Gotta go. Bye!" the girl waved and broke to a run, quickly getting away from the astonished kid._

"_Wait!" Manny yelled. The girl stopped and looked at him "Who are you?" the girl smiled._

"_Frida" was the simple answer he got before the girl ran away. He stared at the quarter on his hand, spellbound. He knew that, no matter what happened, he would never use spend that quarter._

_Flashback End_

"It was a good thing after all" reasoned Manny looking at the quarter and focusing. He felt the Mystic Power inside him surround the coin. On his mind, he called the name:

"Frida Suarez" immediately the Tigre Tracker began to take effect, lighting his mind with an image: a blue-haired girl sitting on the top of Miracle City's volcano "Gotcha" he ran off to the volcano, using his claws to climb his way to the top. He got there by 11:54, and there was Frida, sitting on the edge of the volcano, her legs suspended in midair. He walked to her and sit by her side.

"Hi" Frida didn't look at him "How are you?" still nothing "C'mon Frida, what's on to you? Please, I'm you friend, right? You gotta tell me!" Frida moved her head and locked her eyes with his. She seemed deeply sad.

"You yelled at me" she simply stated. Manny blinked.

"Uh?"

"You yelled at me and said this was my fault" clarified Frida resting her head on her hands. Manny took a few seconds to remember before the memory clicked on his head.

"Oh… that… I'm sorry about that, Frida" the girl didn't say a thing "I was mad and I was not thinking things straight. I-I'm sorry"

"No, you were right" Manny looked surprised "It was my fault. I started choking Cuervo before the big fight started. I was the first one to act. I was…" Manny pulled her into a hug. On that moment he didn't care about the boundary lines, the only thing that mattered was that Frida was feeling bad, and as a friend, Manny had to cheer her up – By any means necessary. Frida sobbed against Manny's chest. The boy softly caressed her head and kissed her forehead.

"It doesn't matter now, Frida. It's all right now. We are all friends again. Like it should be" Frida sobbed again and hugged Manny back. The thirteen-years old felt a light fire on his stomach and smiled. He pulled her off and looked at her face. Shiny pearly tears streamed from her eyes through her cheeks and down to the floor. He wiped them out one by one with his thumb "there, much better" Frida smiled weakly and rested her head on Manny's chest. Manny looked at the clock tower: 11:57 and forty-five seconds. He then looked to the sky: it was a beautiful night, no clouds, a million stars and… what was that green thing? His heart skipped half a dozen beats and then started to pound three times faster when he realized they had sat under one of the "Chipotle flying mistletoe". Frida raised her head, probably having noticed Manny's heartbeat abnormalities and, following his gaze, looked to the sky. Looking straight at the mistletoe. Both teens looked at each other and away, their faces blushing like crazy. Manny licked his lips nervously.

"Y-you don't really have to do it if you don't want to" he mumbled quickly. Frida looked at him, her blushing face showing a puzzled expression "I mean, we're friends and that would be weird and maybe we decide to date and it goes wrong and we stop being friends and that would be crap and well if you don't want to do it it's fine really…" he voiced out so quickly he ran out of air. Frida threw him one of those "are you crazy?" glances that made him feel like an idiot "look, what I mean is…" but he could never tell her as she grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him into a kiss. Manny's mind froze and his eyes widened at the unexpectedly bold move. Frida broke the contact and let her hands fall to her sides.

"I needed you to shut up so we could decide whether to kiss or not" she explained very serious, although her blushing face betrayed her. Manny stared at her, his mind still frozen, unable to move. And then, realization struck in his mind: this was just another game, so now he had to think of a comeback… and what better comeback than…

"Hey I think you got something on your lip" he touched her lower lip with a claw "here, let me clean you" me moved forward and captured her lower lip between his own. She kissed back and he could swear she giggled between his lips. Slowly he parted away, a dreamy smile on his face "there, all clean now" Frida giggled and punched his shoulder.

"So, we never decided" Manny looked at her "Should we kiss or not?" Manny laughed and then looked at the clock: 11:59 with forty-five seconds. He grinned.

Down on the floor, the people had started counting:

Fifteen! Fourteen! Thirteen! Twelve!

"Well, how could I turn down such an offer?" he asked, flirty. Frida giggled again and sat closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Ten seconds to Christmas. Rodolpho ignited the single string.

Nine! Eight! Seven!

"I love you, Frida" the girl opened her eyes and looked at her best friend.

Five!

"I love you too, Manny" she answered holding his hand and interlacing fingers.

Four! The fireworks ignited and rose to the sky, lifting a shower of sparks with them.

Three!

The teens got closer, his free hand on her waist, hers on his face.

Two!

Their slightly opened mouths got closer, looking for sharing the air, looking for share their love.

One!

Their mouths touched just when the count hit zero. Hundreds of fireworks exploded, illuminating the night with thousands of coloured sparks. Everyone cheered, rose their champagne cups to the air, hug other people and celebrated like mad. But for the two teens sitting on the top of the volcano, only the other one mattered. Slowly they parted, savouring every second they were still joined by their flesh, enjoying the smell of the other and the warmth of their bodies. They looked at the other, a little image of themselves smiling stupidly in their eyes. Frida gently caressed Manny's cheek. The boy purred in pleasure and wrapped his tail around Frida's waist.

"What a Christmas, huh?" asked Manny dreamily. Frida nodded and kissed him on the cheek, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Dude, look at all the fireworks" Manny looked and was amazed: the fireworks were still exploding, shining sparks of red, green, violet, yellow, white and blue bathed the air and the stars with multicolour light, creating all kind of wild shapes. Down on the floor, the little kids played with flares, shiny sticks and other small explosion pyrotechnic products. And they also could see Frida's father running like crazy, looking everywhere for his beloved youngest daughter.

"Your dad is gonna get wacko at this rate" Frida chuckled "Do you think we should tell him where you are?"

"Nah. He'd just come here and ruin the moment. Let him go loco a little more" now was Manny's turn to laugh. He grabbed Frida by her shoulder and held her closer. The blue-haired girl threw her hands around the boy's waist. They knew sometime they would have to go down, but not for now. This night was all theirs. When Frida started to yawn, he grabbed her bridal style and took her to his room. They got in bed together, too young to have bad thought. They slept hugged to the other, not wanting to let go of the true love they had experienced.

No one in Miracle City, Calavera or Zombie Town would ever forget that night, and what it did to the people. But those two teens would never forget that little floating mistletoe, and what it did for them.

**Phew! God, this took damn long! Although, I believe, was worth it. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Have a good day! MOC2**


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